Holy Roman Empire

Constitutionally the entity dealt here is the Reich ruled by the king elected by the electors (Kurfürsten) and crowned king. (It is a matter of dispute whether the king acquires his ruling authority with the election or only with the coronation; both dates are given in the following record.) In theory, his title is just King (König) without territorial appendage. By the time period covered here, it was understood that the king had acquired the dignity and notional authority of a Roman emperor (see below), and the scope of his authority as such was styled the Holy Roman Empire (Heiliges Römisches Reich - Sacrum Romanum Imperium); the addition "of the German Nation" (deutscher Nation - nationis germanicae) comes into official use in the 15th century (e.g., Act of the Imperial Diet [Reichsschluss] of 1486); its meaning has been the subject of considerable dispute since the 17th century. In the time period covered, the imperial authority extended de facto (except for some vestigial remnants, such as the chartering of notaries-public throughout Western Europe) only to the (German) Reich, and official use made no distinctions.

Upon his election (and coronation) the person acquired the style of king, whether during the lifetime of the ruler or after an interregnum. Theoretically he was king just as much as an existing ruler, but this was just theory. In honour of the imperial status of the ruler, the elected and crowned king, if not yet emperor-elect (see below), was styled, not just King or German King, but Roman King (Römischer König - Rex Romanorum, literally "king of the Romans").

Upon the demise of the imperial authority, by death or abdication, if a Roman King was in existence, he took the style of Roman Emperor-Elect, King in Germany (see below). The imperial coronation by the pope having been discontinued (except for Karl V 24 Feb 1530), it was decided 4 Feb 1508 to forego the formal acquisition of the style of Roman Emperor and to fall back on the theory that an elected German king was ipso facto Roman emperor-elect and to make this point by incorporating this concept into the ruler's style.

The full style during the period covered (to which were, of course, attached the styles belonging to the states ruled by the emperor-elect, such as Archduke of Austria) was as follows: Von Gottes Gnaden erwählter römischer Kaiser, R.I.S.A., König in Germanien - Divina favente clementia Romanorum imperator electus et semper augustus, R.I.S.A., rex in Germania. The initials R.I.S.A. stood for Romanorum imperator semper augustus, but were misinterpreted to stand for Romani imperii semper auctor, and this misinterpretation had by the period covered come into official use, being rendered in German as zu allen Zeiten Mehrer des Reichs ("at all times increaser of the empire").

Under the provisions of the Golden Bull of 1356, when there was no king the royal authority was exercised by two imperial vicars (Reichsvikare - vicarii imperii), each with a separate territorial jurisdiction. They were specified to be the count palatine of the Rhine (Pfalzgraf bei Rhein) and the count palatine of Saxony (Pfalzgraf von Sachsen). By our time period, the count palatine of Saxony was the duke of Saxony, elector; and the count palatine of the Rhine was the elector with that title, until the interregnum of 1657, when the electorate in question, and with it the county palatine, were in dispute with Bavaria.

Confederation of the Rhine

Under the aegis of Napoléon I, emperor of the French and king of Italy, a confederation of states resigning from the Reich was formed 25 Jul 1806, Napoléon becoming protecteur de la Confédération du Rhin in addition to his other styles. The Charter (Rheinbundakte in German) was written in the French language, and called the entity États confédérés du Rhin, but used the term Confédération. The official German term was Rhein-Confoederation, but it was informally styled Rheinbund, the name by which it is known to history. The constituents of the Confederation were technically not states, but rulers. By joining the Confederation some had their rank elevated, notably a few who became grand-dukes (Grossherzöge), who were regarded as of royal status. The Diet of the Confederation, as well as its College of Kings, was chaired by the former archbishop of Mayence, imperial archchancellor and elector, in his capacity as Prince-Primate (Fürstprimas).

Transition 1813-15

After the dissolution of the Rhine Confederation, there was no central authority in Germany until the creation of the German Confederation. An attempt at coordination was, however, made, and it was headed by a body called Central Administration Council (Zentralverwaltungsrat).

¹Although initially the government was officially called Regierung, the term Ministerrat was used unofficially and, from 16 Nov 1954, officially; the term Vorsitzender des Ministerrates for its head was made official 8 Dec 1958, replacing the earlier Ministerpräsident.